My bookshelves contain over forty novels and short story collections written by Joyce Carol Oates under her own name and her pseudonyms, Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly. Although many of Ms. Oates’ literary stories and novels involve crime, her work published under her pen names are psychological suspense at its best.
Her fiction pulls me into other lives with a grace that makes me feel as if I’m breathing the characters’ thoughts into my own mind. I get lost in her language, her pacing, the complex emotions of the people she creates.
One of the greatest thrills in my writing life was when one of my short stories was nominated for an honorable mention in the 2007 Zoetrope All-story Short Fiction contest, judged by Ms. Oates.
I continue to devour her fiction, and hunt through every used bookstore I see, looking for her out-of-print books.
